(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
Oil prices extended gains in early Asian trade on Wednesday amid
simmering geopolitical tensions as Russia cut gas supplies to
Poland, while hopes of Chinese economic stimulus buoyed the demand
outlook, Trend reports with reference to Reuters .
Brent crude futures rose 44 cents, or 0.4%, to $105.43 a barrel
by 0418 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 12
cents, or 0.1%, to $101.82 a barrel.
Crude prices settled about 3% higher on Tuesday in volatile
trade as the market is torn between supply and demand concerns over
Russian oil and gas disruption and a worsening global economic
outlook.
'The market is increasingly volatile and event driven,' said
Howie Lee, an economist at Singapore's OCBC bank.
'Energy security across the world is getting more vulnerable and
vulnerable security normally comes with a higher price tag.'
Russia halted gas supplies to Poland on Wednesday, in a major
escalation of Russia's broader row with the West.
The row sent NYMEX ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures up more than
9% on Tuesday to settle at $4.47 a gallon, a record close.
'Oil is supported via the escalation of geopolitical tensions,'
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a note.
'Cutting gas flows is not new news, but it's the timing of
Russia plugging the gas flows when stagflationary fears are running
rampant again.'
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Tuesday that
Asia faces a 'stagflationary' outlook with the Ukraine war, a spike
in commodity costs and a slowdown in China creating significant
uncertainty.
China's central bank said on Tuesday it will step up prudent
monetary policy support to its economy as Beijing races to stamp
out a nascent COVID-19 outbreak in the capital and avert the same
debilitating city-wide lockdown that has shrouded Shanghai for a
month. Any stimulus would boost oil demand.
Despite extended lockdowns in Asia's biggest aviation market,
China's domestic flight demand has rebounded, pushing global
airline capacity to its highest level in 2022 this week, travel
data firm OAG said on Tuesday.
In supply, U.S. government data on crude inventories is due
later on Wednesday. Industry data on Tuesday showed U.S. crude and
distillate stocks rose last week while gasoline inventories
fell.
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